Stolen Moments
by redleather1323
Summary: Modern AU. Cara always feigns boredom when Kahlan drags her into some hole in the wall bookstore.


Disclaimer: The characters Cara, Kahlan, and Denee do not belong to me. I only own the situations I put them in. Pride and Prejudice and Horton Hears a Who are also not mine.

Author's Note:

This is not my first time writing, but it's my first time posting anything I've written. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but please keep it constructive.

This story is one of a collection of scenes I'm writing with Cara and Kahlan. It's a modern AU, in which I am assuming they are already in a relationship. I've changed a few things about they're childhoods to fit my ideas. I'm talking too much. Everything is basically self-explanitory. Just read and again...no flames, please.  
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Kahlan has always loved reading. Ever since she was a kid, she always had a book close by. When her mom was still alive, she would read to her all the time. Kahlan would snuggle into her mother's side, pressing one ear to her chest. She loved the sound and feel of her mother's voice as it rumbled through her chest. Sometimes they stayed like that from sun up to sun down, only pausing when it became absolutely necessary.

After her mother died, she still read, but it became a lot harder. She had to learn words on her own and get used to the sound of her own voice in her head. She had to hide her books under her bed so her father wouldn't see them. Kahlan had had to pay back the library for many books before she learned to hide them.

Sometimes she read to her sister, when her father was passed out or he left them at home for a night of drinking. Denee didn't appreciate it as much as she had, but maybe it was because Kahlan didn't have her mother's melodic voice.

Her books became her life, her escape for the horrible life she now led. Sometimes she could pretend that the whole of her life was a dream. That she was really a pirate or a princess or a knight that was just reading about a little girl whose mother died and whose father went off the deep end.

Even though Kahlan now leads a life that she loves, she hasn't stopped reading. She reads faster than anyone Cara has ever met, and it seems like the brunette is always dragging her into the library or the bookstore to get a new book.

Cara never really liked reading. She had always been a more visual person, always preferring a movie to a book. She complains for nearly the entire ride to the store about how much gas they probably waste going to the bookstore every week, or how much money they probably spend on books that Kahlan only reads once. However, as soon as Kahlan drags her inside and Cara breathes in the smell of the dusty old books, her demeanor changes.

The smell reminds her of something that she never had, something that she doesn't know enough about to actually miss. She thinks maybe she should miss her mother reading to her, but it never happened, so she doesn't really know. She thinks that maybe she should feel sad that she never got to experience a childhood in which she fell asleep to bedtime stories, but she doesn't because the smell also reminds her of Kahlan.

She sees Kahlan sitting up in the loft, the early evening light making her squint to see the words on the page. She sees Kahlan's long, slender fingers wrapped around the rich leather binding of her newest book. She sees the sparkle in Kahlan's bright blue eyes as the brunette opens a new book for the first time. She sees the amused twitch of Kahlan's lips when a character does something funny, or the tensing of her jaw when she finds a scene or character aggravating, or the way her eyes fill with tears when the main character dies.

She imagines the sound of Kahlan's soft voice reading to her, and she imagines that it would be much better than her mother's deep, gravelly voice. She has never asked Kahlan to read to her, and she likely never will. However, when she imagines it, she can hear the barely audible changes in Kahlan's voice as she reads for different characters. She can feel Kahlan's voice rumble under her lips as she presses a kiss to the skin of her throat.

Kahlan likes leather-bound books. She flips through the pages carefully and refuses to drink or eat while she's reading for fear of damaging the book. Cara likes paperbacks. She likes that she can fold the binding in on itself and see the damage she's imposed on it. Kahlan saves her page with a bookmark. Cara dog-ears hers. When Kahlan finishes reading, her book looks brand-new. When Cara finishes a book, it's torn, bent, and coffee-stained, and looks like it's been read a hundred times.

The bookstore that catches Kahlan's eye today is one that they don't normally frequent. It's a small hole-in-the-wall place above a coffee shop. The rusted metal door above the doorway is the only indication that the place even exists, but it calls Kahlan's attention immediately.

Kahlan looks up at Cara with a pleading gaze and the blonde huffs impatiently, giving a short nod. The brunette presses a quick kiss to Cara's cheek before all but dragging her up the narrow set of stairs and into the store.

The store is small and empty aside from the older woman seated behind the front desk. The walls are constructed of red brick and the place is warmly lit. Mismatched shelves are piled with books, most of which appear to be used. The place smells like any other bookstore: musty, but still good.

The woman behind the desk glances up from her book. Her skin is pale and wrinkled, and her hair is nearly all white. She wears a bulky blue sweater that brings out the blue of her eyes, set behind thin-framed reading glasses. She smiles warmly at Cara and Kahlan as they enter the small store. "Just as I was beginning to think no one appreciated a good book anymore." She leans over the counter, holding out her hand to the two women. "I'm Estelle."

Kahlan takes her hand, shaking it politely. Cara rolls her eyes and pretends that something in the store captured her attention. "I'm Kahlan. You have a lovely store, Estelle." Kahlan says sweetly, releasing the older woman's hand.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful young thing like you." Estelle comments.

Cara doesn't know why, but she feels the urge to glare daggers at the old lady. It's certainly not because she's jealous. She knows that. Instead of glaring, she rests the palm of her hand on the small of Kahlan's back before she speaks. "Cara." she says gruffly, by way of introduction.

Estelle seems to know better than to offer her hand, but she hardly seems perturbed by Cara's behavior. She smiles again. "Well, if you two need anything you'll know where to find me." She holds up a worn copy of _Pride and Prejudice_. "I'd offer to give you a tour, but these two are just starting to figure out they don't hate each other."

Kahlan smiles and thanks the old woman before all but rushing to her preferred section. Cara walks slowly, breathing in the scent of the dusty books and the faint smell of coffee from the shop below. She trails her fingers over worn spines as she saunters through the aisles, not looking for anything in particular. She's been working on the same book for nearly a month and feels like she's made no progress. She's not in the market for another.

She leaves Kahlan to her own devices, allowing her to disappear within the store for near to forty minutes. She's walked the aisles three times before she starts to get impatient.

She finds the brunette another ten minutes later, in the children's section. She's sitting, curled up in a brown leather arm chair, reading a colorful picture book. The smile that graces her lips and the sparkle in her eyes, makes Cara almost not want to approach her. The brunette glances up, feeling Cara's gaze on her and her smile grows brighter.

"What're you doing in the kids' section?" Cara asks, sauntering closer to where Kahlan sits.

Kahlan stands, brushing her lips against the blonde's before speaking. "Sit." she says, pushing Cara into the chair gently.

Cara obliges her and Kahlan settles into Cara's lap, pressing her back to Cara's front. Cara wraps her arms around Kahlan's waist, resting her chin on Kahlan's shoulder.

Kahlan smiles, turning back to the first page of the book. "My mom use to read this to me all the time." she says fondly. "Have you ever read it?"

Cara glances at the title: _Horton Hears a Who_. "Can't say that I have."

Kahlan turns her head to face Cara, blue eyes meeting green. "Will you let me read it to you?"

Cara wants to say yes. Something in her screams for her to say yes. A sense of lost childhood maybe. Cara wants to say no. After all, she has a reputation to uphold. It'd hardly be beneficial to said reputation to be read to like a child.

Cara doesn't know what to say so she settles for pressing a gentle kiss to Kahlan's shoulder. Kahlan smiles and runs a hand through blonde hair before she turns back to the book and begins reading.

Cara doesn't listen to the story as much as she listens to the soft hum of Kahlan's voice. As she imagined, Kahlan's tone of voice changes just enough for Cara to hear as she reads for different characters. She watches as the brunette's eyebrows draw down when a grumpy kangaroo picks on the elephant. Her voice gets softer when the hoard of gorillas capture the elephant and want to drop the clover in boiling oil. A smile turns the corner of her lips up as the kangaroo and all the other animals finally hear the voice of the Who's. Cara presses a kiss to the column of Kahlan's throat as she reads the last line, feeling the soft rumble of Kahlan's voice beneath her lips.

When Kahlan finishes the story, she closes the book, leaning back into Cara's embrace. Cara wraps her arms around the brunette more tightly.

"Did you like it?" Kahlan asks.

Cara shrugs. "Well, I didn't die of boredem." Kahlan laughs and Cara pushes them both to their feet, taking the book from Kahlan. "Did you find something you want?" she asks.

Kahlan smiles and presses her lips to Cara's. "I left it on a shelf over there." she says, pointing to another section in the store over her shoulder. "I'll be right back."

As Kahlan darts off toward the spot she pointed to, Cara looks down at the book in her hand.

Another five minutes later, Kahlan and Cara approach the front counter. Estelle pushes herself off her stool, smiling at them.

Cara tries to ignore the incessant chatter between Kahlan and Estelle, while the older woman carefully rings out Kahlan's purchase. She very nearly succeeds when Estelle says, "You know, you two make a lovely couple.".

Cara very nearly chokes on some invisible object that suddenly blocks her throat. Kahlan blushes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and in unconsciously bashful gesture.

"How did you-?" the brunette begins.

Estelle laughs. "Oh please, dear. The way you look at each other makes it no less than obvious." Kahlan blushes again and Cara glares heatedly at the woman, which makes Estelle laugh all the more.

"Well, if we're done here, I'd like to get going." Cara says to Kahlan through her teeth.

Kahlan smiles. "Right. How much do we owe you, Estelle?"

Estelle glances at the register. "Just $11.50, dear."

Cara pulls a twenty dollar bill out of her back pocket and slaps it down on the counter. "Keep the change." she says, taking Kahlan's book off the counter and handing it to her.

"That's nearly ten dollars, dear. I couldn't take all that." Estelle says, shaking her head.

Cara's hand on the small of Kahlan's back pushes the brunette towards the door. "I insist." she says.

"Very well." Estelle agrees. "I'll just consider it payment toward a future purchase."

"Whatever you need to do." Cara mumbles as she steers Kahlan toward the exit.

"It was nice meeting you, Estelle." Kahlan calls over her shoulder.

"You too, dear." the older woman says as Cara pushes Kahlan out the door.

With the door to the bookstore firmly shut behind them, Cara quickly walks down the narrow set of stairs and back towards their waiting car. She leans against the hood, cursing the fact that it's begun to rain, as she waits for Kahlan to catch up.

"Why did you give her so much money?" Kahlan asks as she comes to stand between Cara's spread legs, her arms loosely circling around the blonde's waist.

Cara wordlessly unzips her leather jacket and slowly pulls out a book. As Kahlan glances down at the bright orange bookcover, she realizes that it is _Horton Hears a Who_.

Kahlan's eyes fly up to meet Cara's. "You stole it?"

Cara's brow furrows. "I left more money that it was worth." she says defensively.

Kahlan relaxes and smiles, but then looks up at the blonde curiously. "Why?" she asks softly.

Cara averts her eyes from the brunette's inquisitive gaze. She had not thought that she would have to give reason to her actions. She hadn't put much thought into them in the first place.

She is silent for a few long moments, hoping that Kahlan will get impatient and change the subject, but the brunette is nothing if not patient. Cara heaves a sigh and prepares for the worst.

"I like..." She takes a ragged, frustrated breath before starting again. "I like listening to you read." She winces as the words leave her mouth, waiting for the humiliation that is sure to come shortly after. The fact that she finds comfort in the sound of Kahlan's voice is something too much like weakness to not be ridiculed for it. Surely Kahlan will laugh and tell her how weak she is, and never let her live this incident down.

After a minute, Cara realizes that Kahlan hasn't done any of those things, and she risks tearing her gaze back up from the pavement to meet Kahlan's face.

Kahlan's blue eyes glisten like she may be about to cry, but her lips are curved up in a soft smile so Cara isn't sure what to make of it. Kahlan doesn't allow the blonde much time to think on her reaction before she leans in and brushes her lips against Cara's own. She lets her lips linger on Cara's longer than she probably should while standing in the middle of a busy street in the rain.

When Kahlan pulls away, she is wearing the same fond smile. "I like reading to you." she says. She lets the words linger in the air for a moment before she pulls away from Cara, squeezing the blonde's hand before getting into the car.

Cara's releases a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before starting around to the other side of the car.


End file.
